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The impact of the minimum import price (MIP) norm on steel is being monitored constantly and it will not be continued unless it is absolutely necessary, Aruna Sundarajan, Secretary, Ministry for Steel asserted.
Sundarajan was speaking at the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry event on manufacturing here on Friday.
“Initial reports suggest that MIP has had a positive impact. Steel prices have firmed up, imports have come down and domestic production has increased but it is too early to make a full assessment of its impact,” she said.
According to the official data released on Friday, in April steel imports came down 15.5 per cent to 654,000 tonnes as compared to 774,000 tonnes the same month last year. During the month, domestic steel production increased 3.2 per cent to 7.48 million tonnes while steel consumption grew 5.2 per cent to 5.75 million tonnes.
Sundarajan said the steel sector is a core sector for the economy and has a multiplier of 6.8 per cent to the GDP. She said that the government is looking at long-term funding and also working on operationalising infrastructure funds to provide support to the sector.
“We are trying to see how we can structure something for the steel industry, which I think will definitely go a long way in bringing down the capital costs,” Sundarajan said.
The steel industry’s stress is not coming due to mismanagement but because of global factors beyond the control of individual firms.
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